Rail-sweeper



{No Model.)

H. A. BRUHNS.

RAIL SWEEPER.

No. 509,871. Patented Dec. 5, 1893.

THE NATIONAL LITHOGRAPNING COMPANY.

wAsmnuruN, u, c.

UNTTED STATES PATENT OEETcE.

HEN RY A. BRUHNS, OF MILWAUKEE, \VISCONSIN.

RAlL-SWEEPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 509,871, dated December5, 1893.

Application filed May 12,1898.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY A. BRUHNS, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee, and in the State ofVvisconsimhave invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rail-Sweepers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear,and exact description thereof.

My invention has for its object to provide a street-car with a simpleand effective rail sweeping mechanism; said invention consisting incertain peculiarities of construction and combination of partshereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings andsubsequently claimed.

In the drawings: Figure 1 represents an ele-.

vation partly in section on line 11 of the succeeding figure andillustrates my rail sweeping mechanism connected to a streetcar; Fig. 2,a plan view of the same partlyin section on line 2-2 of the precedingfigure, and Fig. 3, a detail elevation showing abrush portion of thesweeping mechanism lifted away from a track-rail and out of gear with.the driving mechanism.

Referring by letter to the drawings, A represents a portion of anordinary street-car provided with depending brackets 13 havingperforations engaged by hangers (J the latter being held in place bymeans of nuts 1) and collars c thereon bearing against opposite sides ofthe brackets, as shown in Fig. 1. The hangers pass through plates D, andby means of set-nuts 01 arranged on the hangers to bear against oppositesides of the plates, the latter are held in the positions to which theymay be vertically adjusted.

Loose on bearings e on the plates D is a rock-shaft E having a lever-armF, and a linkrodGconnects this lever-armwith a bell-crank H suspendedbeneath the platform of the car and controlled by a hand-lever I thatcomes within easy reach of the operator of said car. As herein shown thehand-lever is provided with a rack f for adjustable engagement with astationary dog 9 on the car, and by means of a spring h, arranged on aguide t' for said lever, the latter is automatically retained in itsadjusted position.

Fast on the shaft E are wings j that extend upward from sleeves J andthese sleeves serve as bearings for the stems K of forwardly extendedcylindrical rail-sweeping brushes L, the tufts of the latter being steelor other suitable material. The brush-stems K are held in their bearingsagainst longitudinal movement by means of collars 7t upon opposite endsof said bearings and a bevel-gear wheel M on each of said stems mesheswith a like wheel N fast on a shaft 0 that has its bearings in bracketsP that depend from the vertically adjustable plates D above specified.

The shaft 0 is provided with a sprocketwheel Q and a link-belt R runs onsaid wheel and sprockets m on the periphery of a sliding clutch-sectionS, the latter being loose on a stationary clutch-section T that is keyedto an axle of the car. For convenience in the attachment of the clutchto a car-axle, I prefer to make each of its sections in two parts havingsuitable ears, and by means of rivets or bolts engaging opposing ears ofthe parts belonging to each clutch section these parts are heldtogether.

The clutch-section S herein shown is in the form of a sleeve having oneof its ends enlarged and interiorly provided with teeth, the otherclutch-section T being also shown in the form of a sleeve provided withan exterior flange having teeth thereon, and the toothed portions ofboth clutch sections face each other.

The clutch-section S has a spanner-connection n with a bell-crank U thathas its bearing in a bracket V depending from the car, and a link-rod Wjoins the latter bell-crank with a crank-rod X that is shown asextending through a platform of said car to come within easy reach ofthe operator.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that thesweeping-mechanism is driven by the same power employed to run the car,and that it may be thrown in and out of gear at the will of theoperator. It is also to be observed that the rail-sweeping brushes maybe raised and lowered by the operator without throwing thedrive-mechanism out of clutch with the car axle, the operation beingeffected by a rock of the shaft E above specified. A lift of the brusheswill throw their bevel-gear wheels out of mesh with the like wheels onthe shaft 0, as shown in Fig. 3, and thus the power necessary to thedrive of said brushes may be utilized to increase the speed of the canTo compensate for wear on the brushes the 7 plates D are lowered ontheir hangers C, and

it will be seen that said brushes may be used until their tufts are worndown close to the stems, while at the same time the aforesaid brushesmay be kept away from the adjacent rails when a sweeping operation isnot necessary.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of a street-car, brackets depending therefrom,horizontal plates suspended from the brackets, a lever-controlledrock-shaft having its bearings on the plates,

brush-stems, a shaft loose in bearin gs depending fromsaidplates,gear-wheels on the latter shaft for engagement with the onesaforesaid, and a drive-mechanism for the latter shaft having alever-controlled clutch connection with an axle of the car,substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of a street-car,brackets depending therefrom,horizontal plates having a vertically adjustable connection with thebrackets, a lever -controlled rockshaft having its bearings on theplates, other bearings depending from the rock shaft, railsweepingbrushes having stems loose in the latter bearings, suitable gear-wheelsfast on the brush-stems, a shaft loose in bearings that depend from theaforesaid horizontal plates, other suitable gear-wheels on the lattershaft for engagement with those on said brushsterns, a clutch on an axleof said car, a levermechanism controlling the loose section of theclutch, and a link-belt gear connecting said clutch-section with theshaft that gears Withthe aforesaid brush-stems, substantially as setforth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, atMilwaukee,in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wiscousin, in thepresence of two witnesses.

HENRY A. BRUHNS.

Witnesses:

N. E. OLIPHANT, J. W SEWENBERGER.

